"A BEAUTIFULLY WRITTEN, darkly funny coming-of-age
story"; "audacious, gripping and unforgettable"; "a tour de
force of investigative journalism". Aside from the tumble of
complimentary adjectives, what do these quotations have
in common? They've all been lifted from the dust jackets of
miscellaneous books, both fction and non-fction. If you’re in
the market for something new to read, as well as making snap
judgements from glossy covers regarding the contents within,
the chances are you’d fip the book over and scan the carefully
chosen sales pitch, designed to woo the reader into believing
the humble book in your hand is a work of staggering genius.
This is the primary function of the blurb, which might also
include excerpts from the book, quotes from reviewers of the
author's previous works, a summary of the plot or argument,
biographical details about the author, or all of the above.
The very frst blurb is credited to American humourist Gelett
Burgess (1866--1951) with the publication of his book Are You a
Bromide? in 1907. It was the custom of publishers at that time
to present copies of stand-out releases to booksellers attending
the annual trade dinner. Burgess' canny publisher handed out
slightly diferent limited editions of the book. A young woman
was pictured on the cover, this time with accompanying text
that claimed, "YES, this is a BLURB", and "Miss Belinda Blurb
in the act of Blurbing". Somehow the name stuck and blurbs
are now standard promotional teasers. Most debut or mid-
range authors would kill for a good blurb from their peers,
particularly from those already well established in their careers.
A back- or front-cover quote by a Miles Franklin-winning
author heralding "a searing new talent" is worth serious literary
cred. But whether blurbs from highly respected names can
actually boost sales is a moot point. More likely it's a number
of factors that contribute to the purchase of a book: the blurb
plays its part, along with word-of-mouth recommendations,
media reviews and come-hither cover art.
There are some who consider blurbing to be a real literary
art form. Gary Shteyngart, author of Super Sad True Love
Story, Absurdistan and The Russian Debutante’s Handbook,
has a Tumblr account "of promiscuous praise" that records his
prolifc endorsements – more than 100 snappy little blurbs so
far: "Literary horror just found a new master. Profound, and
profoundly terrifying”; “Suck it, Proust. This book about stuf
is much better than those things you wrote"; "A brainy, bright,
laughter-through-tears, can't-stop-reading-until-it's-over
kind of novel. Fatherless daughters, mother-smothered sons,
appealing ex-wives, mouthy high-school drop-outs -- damn,
this book's got something for everyone!" He's even blurbed his
own blurbs: "Gary Shteyngart's blurbs are touching, funny and
true. This is a blurber to watch."
Puff Power
His propensity for Twitteresque reviews is explored in
a 15-minute documentary called Shteyngart’s Blurbs that
features various authors (from Edmund White to Molly
Ringwald) whose books were enthusiastically received by
Shteyngart, as well as book critics bemused by his reputation
as a "blurb whore". Although at times his hyperventilating
praise seems like a parody of the whole practice, in the flm
Shteyngart explains how he regards his hobby as a form of
encouragement to lure reluctant readers: "I'm trying to get
people to read good, serious literary fction… No hyperbole
can be hyperbolic enough because very few people want to
read this stuf.”
No doubt there's also a small matter of ego as well; it
would be gratifying for Shteyngart to have his name on other
people's books; to draw attention to himself while graciously
complimenting others. Nonetheless, rapacious readers can
soon become immune to the allure of well-placed advertising
copy. There is, after all, only so many times you can read
the words "masterly", "lyrical" and "gripping" before it all
becomes a mulch of meaningless praise.
Some books, particularly satirical ones, gleefully trade
on fake, highfalutin commendations from unlikely sources
to create a buzz. Bored of the Rings (1969), for instance,
by Henry N Beard and Douglas C Kenney (with renamed
characters called Dildo, Arrowroot and Goddam) apparently
has a thumbs-up from the Harvard Daily News: "Never have
I laughed so hard at any other book...unquestionably a comic
masterpiece as well as a brilliant parody".
More seriously, there are also cases of wilful blurb fraud.
In mid-2013, a Russian publishing company tried to sell
Tsvet Boli Krasny (Red is the Colour of Pain) as a Swedish
detective novel in the tradition of Stieg Larsson by plastering
the book with blurbs from non-existent Swedish news
sources. The difcult-to-police realm of cyberspace is also rife
for abuse. Bestselling crime author RJ Ellory, for instance,
was caught out writing self-aggrandising Amazon reviews for
his own works while trashing his competitors' books. This
act of penning anonymous online appraisals of one's work is
called 'sock-puppeting'. Orlando Figes, a leading historian,
was also found guilty of being a sock-puppeteer and lauding
his own books on Amazon while decrying the work of his
rivals.
Fraud notwithstanding, blurbs remain an integral part of
the whole publishing package. But whether readers choose to
believe that a book "is an accomplished gem; its prose as crisp
and sparkling as its northern setting" is ultimately up to them.
Thuy On is The Big Issue’s Books Editor.
ILLUSTRATION BY DANNY SNELL
30 THEBIGISSUE24JAN--6FEB2014
THUY ON ASKS: SHOULD YOU JUDGE A BOOK BY ITS BLURB?